Exposure of consumer data to unauthorized parties is a pressing concern for both consumers and enterprises to whom consumers entrust their data. According to the current state of the art, a consumer would typically provide their contact information directly to an enterprise to receive text or email messages from that enterprise. In the content of the present invention, enterprises may include, but are not limited to, businesses of all sizes, groups, clubs, non-profit organizations and schools However, many enterprises lack proper safeguards necessary to adequately protect the consumer contact information entrusted to them. Moreover, some enterprises may sell the consumer contact information to an unauthorized third party without the consumer's consent. Cyber security breaches and data theft are persistent and an unresolved global problem.
Currently, consumers have little recourse if their contact information has been obtained by unauthorized third parties. Consumers often resort to blocking communications from specific bad actors or changing their phone number, email, user identification, etc. These solutions are time-consuming, costly and aggravating. As a result, consumers are becoming unwilling to share their contact information, even with legitimate organizations. Eroding trust makes it increasingly difficult for businesses to acquire contact information and contact authorization from their consumers. The risk of data leakage of personal identifiers, such as phone numbers, device identifications, or email addresses increases each time a consumer shares their personal information with yet another organization. After consumer consent is given to an organization, its revocation is not definitive and there is no visibility into affiliate sharing of personal identifiers.
Thus, there is a strong but, heretofore, unresolved need for a method of ensuring secure communications between enterprises and consumers without exposing the consumers personal information to the enterprises.